Spray Painting Efficiency Training and the New NESHAP

(National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants)

In 2011, PPRC's STAR program:

trained 240 painters

saved 10,080 gallons of paint

reduced 99,500 lbs of air emissions

saved businesses $3,020,000

The Training

The Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center (PPRC) is currently providing Spray Technique Analysis and Research (STAR®) and NESHAP training to painters and paint instructors. The STAR® program was developed by the Iowa Waste Reduction Center (IWRC) at the University of Northern Iowa and is dedicated to improving the overall efficiency of manual spray coating operations by enhancing the techniques of spray technicians. STAR® addresses:

The importance of gun adjustments to achieve proper air and fluid pressure.

New Requirements

On January 9th of 2008, the EPA’s new 6H NESHAP Area Source rules for surface coatings became law, with compliance required by January 10th, 2011. This law is specifically applicable to the collision repair industry, but if you apply surface coatings to metal or plastic substrates it may very likely apply to you as well. The 6H NESHAP includes recordkeeping requirements, new filter requirements, and both classroom and hands-on spray efficiency technique training. The required NESHAP training elements are met by the STAR® program.2

Does this Apply to Me?

The 6H NESHAP addresses five metals that are hazardous air pollutants. These metals are chromium (CR), cadmium (CD), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb) and manganese (Mn). If you spray any coating once a year that contains one of the five target metals, you are subject to these regulations. If you are in the collision repair industry you are automatically subject to these regulations, even if you do not spray coatings containing the target metals. However, if you certify your coatings free of these metals you can apply for an exemption.

Other Training Benefits

In addition to compliance with the new regulation, other benefits of this training include:

Material Savings: Increased transfer efficiency will reduce material usage. Research in the collision repair industry has shown that the STAR program has results in an average savings of $4,200 per year per employee in 1996 dollars. An industrial facility can save as much as $40,000 or more annually. Even the most experienced painters have been shown to improve their efficiency by as much as 25% through increased attention to application techniques.

"The state-of-the-art equipment and training have enhanced the training our instructors provide by creating parameters that are more exacting and easier to identify and measure than the common 'eye and feel' method. The industry will benefit greatly as the students enter industry using more efficient methods. STAR not only saves considerable cost, but it also expands the awareness and concern for the environment by saving precious resources."- Karen Johnson, Dean for Trade and Industry, Renton Technical College

"I’ve worked with Ken Grimm of PPRC’s STAR program to host five different trainings over the last three years for auto body shops and collision repair programs at six different colleges and high schools around Idaho. The STAR program has provided a huge value to Idaho’s auto body industry, helping shops save money and materials, and comply with federal regulations and sending painters out into the workforce educated on spray efficiency techniques and other best practices."- Joanna Pierce, Pollution Prevention Coordinator, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality

LaserPaint® is a laser guided device designed to assist painters develop or refine their skills keeping consistent, accurate spray gun to part distance. For more information, or to purchase a LaserPaint® device, visit their site here.

The Auto Body Surface Coating Guide is a free best practices manual for collision repair shops and shop owners. Download the file here.

The IWRC has developed two software products, one designed to help a facility track paint and solvent usage and the other designed to help a facility track paint emissions and sprayable material usage. The software tracks on a on a rolling twelve-month basis and is available for free download.

VirtualPaint is a training system, ideal for companies that do not want to shut down facilities and waste coating and materials for the sole purpose of training. The VirtualPaint is an effective training system that requires no excessive time, no use of coating or materials and does not produce any waste or air emissions. For more information, visit their Web site here.

USEPA Collision Repair Campaign

The Environmental Protection Agency has a large collection of information and tools designed to help collision repair save money while coming into compliance with the new rules.

EPA’s Design for the Environment (DfE) program has an Automotive Refinishing Partnership program with excellent resources, ranging from health and safety information to best practices for everything from mixing rooms to prep areas to spray booths.